Cleanliness is not only a critical part of personal hygiene but an important factor for relaxation therapy. This is also a key element in caring for the sick and the aged. Pet owners appreciate that this is also an important factor in maintaining the health of their pets.
A soap bar is subject to becoming slippery when wet and is easily dropped by the user, creating a hazard in the shower from slipping on the soap bar or from having to fetch a slippery bar of soap. The bar of soap is also subject to produce soap slime when stored on a flat surface after wetting which results in accelerated degradation of the solid soap product. Lastly, in order to use the bar of soap in combination, the user is required to use two hands.
Several prior approaches have attempted to overcome these disadvantages by, for example, using a washcloth with a pouch sewn directly into it or the creation of a pouch by using snaps or Velcro®, and the soap being inserted into one end and being positioned into the pouch of the washcloth. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/504,732 (Morgan) discloses a soap holding cleaning cloth with soap holding pouches which close due to a fastener. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/948,033 (Soutullo, et al.) discloses a washcloth for scrubbing and abrasion and a pouch or pocket made of relatively more permeable material for holding soap. The pouch may include a closure for retaining the soap. U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,610 (Moss) discloses a washcloth including a pocket for retaining an object with a third piece of fabric to act as a flap to provide a closure to the opening. A portion of the second piece of fabric is positioned beneath the third piece of fabric. In this way, the third piece of fabric provides a closure for retaining an object positioned within the pocket.
Alternatively, washcloths have incorporated elastic tulle or other lessor permeable fabrics. U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,881 (Dawan) discloses a soap dispensing washcloth system and method where an elastic tulle pocket is attached to a washcloth to dispense soap through cellular holes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,378 (Webb) discloses a washcloth fabricated from a continuous, tubular elastic cloth cut into predetermined lengths and stitched together at a closed end forming an internal pocket in a manner similar to that of a conventional sock. An open end of the internal pocket includes an elastic band stitched about the perimeter of the open end which contracts to retain the bar of soap after it has been inserted into the washcloth.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, describe the washcloth with bar soap retention pouch of the present invention.
While washcloths have been designed which include merely a pouch for inserting a bar of soap, the pouch often times does not provide a means for retaining the soap within the pouch so as to prevent the soap from being dislodged during normal usage or when the bar of soap shrinks from normal usage while the bar of soap is in direct contact with the user's skin. In addition, many people are disabled and are unable to use a bar of soap together and a washcloth together in order to wash. Furthermore, sometimes the washcloth pouch includes metal snaps or means of closures which can rust due to use in the shower or bath and can be abrasive to the user's skin.
What is needed is a washcloth that enables the user to have a firm grip on the bar of soap and places the soap bar in a position to directly contact the body of the user without having to pass through the washcloth material.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a shower or bathing washcloth with a soap bar pouch that makes it easy to take a shower or bath one's body thoroughly without dropping the bar of soap or to continually reapply soap to the washcloth, wasting soap.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a washcloth for retaining a bar of soap that makes it easy to shower or bath and to cleanse one's body thoroughly.
And, yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a washcloth with a bar of soap in which the soap bar is separated from the user's hand and yet is easily installed into a cleansing position.
And, yet another object of the present invention is to provide a shower or bathing washcloth with a bar of soap retention means which does not include snap buttons or other metal means of closing a pouch in order to avoid rusting and the unnecessary abrasive against the user's skin.